Unora
Addressing Individual Needs in Ostomy Care

Ostomy care depends on reliable sealing and effective skin protection, but the requirements of one person living with a stoma differ considerably from those of another. Moisture management, adhesion, skin sensitivity and comfort can all influence which solution works best.

Unora draws on decades of manufacturing expertise to address these varying user needs through its portfolio of skin-protection technologies. Production in Berlin, Germany, anchors this expertise, translating it into solutions designed to deliver reliable sealing and effective skin protection while supporting individual comfort.

Formerly operating as ForLife, with OakMed as its distribution arm in the UK, Unora has brought these capabilities together under one challenger brand. The transition marks a strategic shift toward engaging more closely with people living with a stoma while retaining its long-standing manufacturing expertise.

Unora’s philosophy, ‘Here for what matters,’ recognises that priorities differ across consumers, healthcare providers and distributors, and these differences should inform product development and services. The company has also introduced new organisational values and behaviours to bring its consumer-focused promise into everyday operations.

“From a value-add perspective, we have evolved from a traditional OEM, B2B organisation. Even with the rebrand, our focus remains firmly on the B2B market, and we continue to build on those established relationships,” says Don Darais, chief marketing officer.

For distributors, the transition preserves access to familiar ForLife products alongside new technologies such as Silkura. Healthcare providers can confidently recommend these solutions to people living with a stoma, whether at hospital discharge or during ongoing care. The aim is to provide products that fit into daily life without adding to the burden of managing a stoma.

Building a Broader Product Choice

Feedback from healthcare providers and consumers guides product development. Unora leverages these interactions to identify where additional options may be useful and build a portfolio that accommodates different needs.

Our workforce makes the manufacturing process efficient and allows us to meet the needs of consumers.

Silkura illustrates this approach by bringing silicone technology into ostomy applications. While silicone is well established and extensively studied in wound care, its use in ostomy care requires a balance between reliable adhesion and the flexibility to move with the skin. Unora’s development work has focused on achieving both in a single flange. The design also incorporates skin-like pores that allow moisture beneath the flange to pass through and evaporate.

Silkura offers an alternative to traditional hydrocolloid-based skin barriers, which absorb moisture. As both technologies offer distinct benefits, Unora continues to provide hydrocolloid and other adhesive options to suit different care requirements. The objective is not to make one material universal, but to expand the range of solutions available.

The launch of Silkura and the Unora brand at the WCET conference in April 2026 gave the company early insight into the unmet needs clinicians hoped the technology could address. Healthcare professionals approached the booth with examples of patients who had tried multiple products but continued to experience limited wear time or peristomal skin problems. Some clinicians were already identifying patients they believed could benefit from an alternative.

Darais characterises those early responses as anecdotal.

“When we develop new products and services, we keep the consumer at the centre of our decisions,” says Darais.

Unora’s Alginate line offers another variation. The hydrocolloid material is infused with seaweed-derived alginate, which enables it to absorb approximately 50% more moisture than traditional hydrocolloid. The formulation is also designed to support skin healing. Clinicians have used the product with people experiencing peristomal skin irritation and have reported positive feedback on the condition of the skin beneath the wafer.

This feedback is prompting Unora to explore whether the Alginate line could help prevent skin breakdown. Beyond its use when irritation occurs, the company is assessing whether the material’s moisture-management properties could help reduce the risk of skin damage before it develops.

Keeping Variety Practical at Scale

Offering more choices introduces a manufacturing challenge. A portfolio designed around different needs cannot depend entirely on standardised production runs.

For Unora, ‘Made in Germany’ is not simply a label associated with manufacturing heritage, but a testament to the European quality requirements and expertise involved in producing its medical devices.

At its Berlin facility, production sits alongside the company’s engineering and quality activities. This close connection supports manufacturing oversight and reinforces strict quality assurance. The expertise of the people operating and maintaining the equipment also helps ensure product consistency. Professionals operating and maintaining the equipment bring specialised knowledge to a process that has to balance efficiency with the consistency expected from medical products.

“Our workforce makes the manufacturing process efficient and allows us to meet the needs of consumers,” says Darais.

Equal attention is on streamlining the manufacturing process to handle different production volumes efficiently while controlling costs and meeting consumer needs.

One product might require production at a scale of one million units, while another may require only 50,000. The company accommodates these differences without losing sight of the people its products serve.

That same discipline extends to managing environmental impact. Waste reduction has long been part of Unora’s manufacturing approach, including efforts to make the most of raw materials and reuse them where possible. Beyond those measures, Darais highlights that a more natural and potentially biodegradable option is a standard that all manufacturers in this space, including Unora, should be working toward.

Darais does not present these efforts as a finished sustainability programme. Instead, environmental impact is becoming another consideration as Unora evaluates future products alongside usability, safety and performance.

Bringing Consumers into the Conversation

The clearest expression of Unora’s consumer-focused shift is its direct-to-consumer programme, launched in the UK and Germany. Teams now engage directly with people who are experiencing problems with their existing products or have questions about their options.

Those conversations give Unora a direct view of the challenges people face with their existing products, the questions they have when considering alternatives, and the needs that remain unmet. By relaying these insights to its internal teams, the company aims to bring everyday user experiences directly into product development and decisions about future offerings.

That distinction matters because consumer focus is not simply something Unora claims. The direct-to-consumer programme creates an active channel through which it can listen and respond.

Healthcare providers and distributors remain part of the same equation, whether that means giving confidence in the products to recommend or access to reliable products alongside new technologies.

Unora’s evolution preserves the manufacturing expertise and B2B relationships established through ForLife and OakMed while bringing the experiences of people living with a stoma closer to its product-development process. By combining that foundation with a portfolio spanning different skin-protection technologies, the company is building its approach around a central recognition—dependable ostomy care requires both manufacturing consistency and options that reflect individual needs.

This combination underpins its recognition as the Medical Devices and Aids Manufacturer Company of the Year in Europe 2026.